Always looking to do more with less? Like help the environment and getting exercise at the same time? Well Larry Gilg did, and he found a way: "I hooked a water pump to a bicycle trainer and use it to pump water out of my rainwater system." Watering his yard, totally for FREE and getting exercise at the same time. Read on for an interview with innovator Larry Gilg and his highly creative sustainable yard watering system. I became interested in rainwater harvesting several years ago. It was becoming evident to me that our culture is almost totally dependent on energy derived from hydrocarbon based fossil fuels for our basic needs: food, water and shelter.
Understanding how water gets from the catchment tank to the faucet can help people on rainwater catchment systems feel more comfortable with their system and be more self-reliant. A normal pump system is composed of a pump, a pressure tank, a pressure switch, and a check valve. These main components all work together automatically to supply pressurized water to your point of use. Catchment pump systems draw water from the tank, pressurize it, and store it in a pressure tank until you need it. There is a one-way valve called a check valve (also called a foot valve) between the water tank and the pump; this valve prevents the pressurized water from returning to the water tank, and it simultaneously creates a closed system between it and your faucets.